The National League Cy Young Award Race

This year in the National League there has been many surprising pitchers.  Roy Halladay, one of the best pitchers in the game, has been hurt for most of the season, and Tim Lincecum hasn't look anything like his Cy Young Award winning years.  This year there is many pitchers, anywhere from 10 or more, who can win the Cy Young Award, and so far the leading candidate is a 37 year old knuckleball pitcher, R.A. Dickey.  Here is how I feel the race is shaping out:

1st - R.A. Dickey - New York Mets:  R.A. Dickey has been a huge surprise so far this season.  No one ever thought he would ever be this good, and anything close to a Cy Young Award contender.  He has been the most dominating pitcher this year going 12-1 with a 2.15 ERA.  R.A. Dickey leads the league with a .88 WHIP and three complete games.  He is second in the National League in strikeouts with 116, and he has shown great control with his knuckleball.  We have never seen a pitcher like R.A. Dickey before who throws mid 80's knuckleball and is so dominate.  He is the leading Cy Young Award candidate and if he continues to pitch like this the rest of the season there will be no question that he should win the award.

2nd - Matt Cain - San Fransisco Giants:  Matt Cain, who has so far lived up to his huge contract he received this off season, has been a very dominate pitcher this year.  He is finally getting some respect he has deserved, since in years past he has been one of the most underrated pitchers in the game.  Matt Cain has been very good this year, and he has pitched the best game this year so far, a perfect game, where he struck out 14 batters.  Through 16 games this season, Cain is 9-3 with a 2.53 ERA and a .95 WHIP.  He is close to the top in strike outs with 114 and innings pitched with 113.2.  Matt Cain has become the ace of the Giants staff and has shown why he is one of the best young pitchers in the game today.  He should continue stay in the Cy Young race and will challenge R.A. Dickey for the award if he continues to pitch this way. 

3rd - A.J. Burnett - Pittsburgh Pirates:  A.J. Burnett might be a surprise here at third but if you look at his numbers he has pitched very well.  He has been very hot in his last 10 starts going 8-0 with a 2.29 ERA.  The ace of the Pirates staff has had only one bad start this season, where he allowed 12 earned runs against the Cardinals on May 2nd.  If it wasn't for the one bad start he would of had a 2.05 ERA, which would currently be second best in the league.  A.J. Burnett is currently 9-2 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP, in 13 starts.  He could have a good chance at a 20 win season, and if he continues to pitch this well and stay healthy he will be a dark horse in the Cy Young race. 

4th - Stephen Strasburg - Washington Nationals:  Stephen Strasburg has pitched very well so far, but if he is shut down at his 160 innings limit, which I expect to happen, he will not win the Cy Young Award.  As of today, Strasburg is still well in the conversation of being the Cy Young winner, but because of his inning limit, that is why I have him ranked fourth in my Cy Young Award race standings.  The young power pitcher through 16 games is 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP.  He is also leading the N.L. with 122 strike outs in 93 innings.  He is one of the most over powering pitchers in the game, and he will be able to have a chance at the Cy Young Award.  But you can't be the best pitcher when you don't pitch in September.

5th - James McDonald - Pittsburgh Pirates:  James McDonald has been a surprise this season.  He has finally showed that he can be a top of the rotation pitcher.  He has pitched well this season and has a record of 8-3 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  His could have even more wins but the Pirates have struggled to score runs, and have been shut out all three times he has lost.  If he and the Pirates continue to play well, he will have a slight advantage over guys like Wade Miley, Zack Greinke, and Cole Hamels for the fifth spot.

Pitchers who are still in the race:  Zack Greinke, Wade Miley, Cole Hamels, Gio Gonzalez, Lance Lynn, Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto, and Chris Capuano.

The Cy Young Award race is still not over and many of these great pitchers who are not in my top five could easily make a push for the top spot.  The Cy Young Award race should come down to the wire and it should be fun to see if some of these pitchers can make a strong push to become the best pitcher in the National League.

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The College Football Four Team Playoff is Not Enough

Starting in 2014 college football will be using a four team playoff system to determine who will play for the National Championship instead of having computers pick two teams.  Using a playoff system is a step in the right direction for college football but it isn't enough.  College football should use an eight team playoff system, where the six main conferences champions get an automatic bid into the playoffs, and then have two wild card teams that are selected by a committee.  The two wild card teams and the seeding for the playoffs should be chosen based on their record, strength of schedule, and any head to head meetings between the teams.  College football has to reward the teams who win their conference championship games in the big six conference, and having them all make the playoffs is away to emphasize the importance of the championship games.  The playoff system will never satisfy everyone but an eight team playoff is the answer.  There will be less arguing on who deserves to get in if you have the six main conferences get an automatic bid and two other teams selected into the playoffs by a committee.

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Milwaukee Panthers are Moving Back to the Klotsche Center

The Milwaukee Panthers announced that they are moving back to the Klotsche Center.  This move back to the Klotsche is a stupid decision.  The Klotsche Center only seats 3.500 people and it is below Horizon League standards, which requires the arena to seat 5,000 people, but the Horizon League decided to make an exception.  The Panthers will regret moving back to campus instead of paying to play at the US Cellular Arena, even though it was very expensive to play there, because students are still not going to come to the games and they will lose fan support.  Moving back to the Klotsche Center will also hurt their chances of moving into a better conference until they build a new arena on campus.  If the Panthers want to be a competitive and a respected basketball program they can't play in a high school gym.  No high school basketball player is going to want to come and play for the Panthers when they have awful facilities.  The Panthers should have continued to play at the US Cellular Arena, while they built a new arena on campus.  Until the Panthers play in an arena that is suited for a college team they will have trouble recruiting talented players, and they won't have support from students and fans.

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The Milwaukee Bucks Need to Strike Gold in the NBA Draft

The Milwaukee Bucks need to draft a player who will make an immediate impact right away and someone that will develop into a good starter in the future.  The Bucks can't draft a guy who will take years to develop into a bench player like Larry Sanders, or a player like Joe Alexander, who was a complete bust and is now flipping burgers at the local McDonalds.  The Bucks need to address their biggest need and draft Tyler Zeller.  He would be the best fit for the Bucks because he is experienced, tall, runs the floor very well, and has a great touch around the basket.  People think that Meyers Leonard would be a good player to draft because of his upside, but he isn't experienced, too much of a risk and wouldn't help the Bucks right away.  If the Bucks want to be competitive and have a chance to make the playoffs they need to draft Tyler Zeller.  If the Bucks decided not to draft Tyler Zeller or trade for an experienced center, the Bucks will be just as bad this year as they were last year, and it will be the last year Scott Skiles coaches the Bucks.

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The Milwaukee Brewers Should be Sellers at the Trade Deadline

The Brewers main focus should be trading Zack Greinke because the Brewers have no chance of resigning him at the end of the year, and they need to get prospects back that are close to the same quality they traded to acquire him last off season.  The Brewers need to acquire pitching prospects and a shortstop prospect since those are two of the weakest areas for the Brewers this year and in their farm system.  Teams will be willing to give up a top prospect and 2 above average to average prospects to acquire a former CY award winner in Zack Greinke, even if it is just a two month rental.....just like the Brewers did a few years ago when they traded for CC Sabathia.  Doug Melvin better be smart for once and look at the future and not the present.  If he doesn't pull the trigger and trade Zack Greinke to help the future he should be relived of his duties as GM.  The Douger has ruined the farm system grabbing for the "brass ring", and has basically fallen off the merry-go-round horse.  He really missed on giving the Brewers a realistic shot at making the playoffs this year.  I have difficulty buying the injury excuse.....please refer to Uncle Teddy up in Green Bay 2 seasons ago when he won a Super Title with a bunch of second and third stringers.  Doug Melvin has to realize that the Brewers are a small market team and should be built through the draft and not by over paying for veteran players, just like what Ted Thompson has done with the Green Bay Packers.  If Greinke and some other players aren't traded the Brewers won't be competitive for the next four years.

Heat vs. Thunder in the NBA Finals

Since the start of the 2011-2012 NBA season there has been many surprises, but the one thing that doesn't surprise anyone is that the Heat and Thunder are the last two teams remaining in the playoffs because they are two of the most talented teams in the NBA.  The Thunder will win this series in seven games, but I wouldn't be surprised if they win the series in five or six games because the Thunder have more talent and a deeper bench than the Heat.  Kevin Durant will dominate this series and show why he is the best player in the game, and why he deserved the MVP award.  If the series goes only five or six games it will be because LeBron James will choke again in the finals, which wouldn't surprise anyone since he always chokes in the big games.  If the Heat want to win they have to attack the basket and get Sergi Ibaka in foul trouble, and if they don't they will lose this series.  The young and confident Thunder will beat the Heat to win the NBA Championships.

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Albert Pujols' Struggles Continue

To start the season Albert Pujols has really lived up to his massive contract he signed this off season with the Los Angeles Angels.  Albert Pujols, the best player in the MLB today, is batting .191 with a league leading ZERO home runs and five runs batted in coming into today's game.  He should be lucky that he is Albert Pujols, otherwise he would have already been sent down to the minors because statistically he is the worst player in the American League.  He has the lowest batting average, on base and slugging percentage in the American League.  His hitting mechanics are off, supposedly he is uncomfortable without his family in L.A., since they are back in St. Louis, and he is pressing to live up to his huge contract.  That is why I thought he would have gone back to the Cardinals this off season since he is comfortable their, but instead he decided to go to the team that offered him the most money, which was the Angels.  His hitting will eventually come back to being an average hitter, but I think his career his on the decline.  I would not be surprised if this season he only hits 20-25 home runs, 95 RBIs, and has an average of .250.  Without Albert Pujols hitting at an MVP level the Angels will be lucky enough to just win a wild card spot this season.

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